For years people have taken the challenge to run the HOOD TO COAST relay.
To be honest, the signing up and pre-race parts of the process were not appealing to my DO IT NOW personality – little did I know how much I would come to appreciate those finite details.
As soon as I signed up – OK a couple of weeks later- I started training for the relay- I knew I would be assigned at least two legs of the relay but I had no idea which ones, what the terrain would be, what the weather would be or even who my teammates would be.
The night before the relay, I met my new team and was pleased to find them very accepting and excited to have me on their team. We went through some details, loaded our supplies, and decorated our vehicles. The following morning I drove out to meet the team and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw!
As the day progressed I saw the magic of what happens when people lay down all their differences and come together to support a common cause – in this case, Breast Cancer Awareness. I found myself enjoying the various themes, creativity, and human spirit during my 2 days and it made me think of how much I love people.
The ten-plus miles I walked were uneventful – in my case that is a huge PLUS! No trip falls or blisters- it was a great adventure. We can find community everywhere we look and we can see the beauty in all the differences we see. It’s time to look for the good, find a cause worth fighting for, and maybe even dust off the old tennis shoes and GO FOR A WALK!
A special shout out to my Portland to Coast team: Rick and Deb Middleton, Derek & Pilar Swanson, Val Hanada, Stuart Branine, MaryJo Reinhardt, Kortney Lyman, Katrina Tompkins, David Miller, Judie Bristow.
Cheri Perry
Thursday, September 22, 2022

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